o 

c  ) 

o 

C  ) 

o 

Isabella  fl.  Nassau 


OF  AFRICA 


The  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church 

501  Witherspoon  Building  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Price,  3  cents ;  30  cents  a  dozen 


JOE 


O  O  O 


IOE 


IOI  ~ J  aoi — :>  k -  inr 


Isabella  A.  Nassau 

OF  AFRICA 


“F 


ROM  my  earliest  childhood  I  wished  to  go  to 
Africa  as  a  missionary.  I  cannot  tell  how 
1  came  to  say  one  day,  when  we  children 
were  playing,  that  I  would  be  a  missionary  to  Africa. 
But  most  vividly  I  remember  that  soon  after  I  had  said 
the  word,  it  was  impressed  upon  me  that  I  could  not 
take  back  the  word  I  had  spoken;  it  was  a  vow.  I 
think  now  it  was  a  Divine  call.'’’  Thus  Miss  Nassau, 
when  a  veteran  missionary,  told  how  she  came  to  choose 
Africa  for  her  mission  field. 


EARLY  ENVIRONMENT. 


Isabella  Ann  Nassau  had  behind  her  a  lineage  de¬ 
voted  to  Christian  service,  and  around  her  an  atmos¬ 
phere  of  Christian  intelligence  and  activity.  Her  grand¬ 
father,  William  Nassau  of  Philadelphia,  was  an  active 
member  of  the  “Board  of  Missions/’  afterwards  known 
as  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  and  for  seven  years  its  treasurer.  Her 
father  was  Rev.  Charles  William  Nassau,  pastor  and 
professor.  Her  mother  was  Hannah  McClintock 
Hamill,  sister  of  Robert,  Samuel  M.,  and  Hugh  Hamill, 
names  well  known  in  the  annals  of  the  Presbyterian 
ministry  and  of  preparatory  schools. 

Miss  Nassau  was  born  Tanuary  20th,  1829,  near 

Norristown,  Pa.,  while  her  father  was  pastor  of  the 
Providence  Church.  She  was  the  second  child  and 
oldest  daughter  in  a  family  of  ten  She  was  baptized 
June  28th,  1829,  in  the  Old  Pine  Street  Church,  Phila¬ 
delphia,  by  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely. 


3 


A  few  years  of  girlhood  were  spent  in  Hannibal, 
Missouri,  whither  her  father  removed  to  become  Pro¬ 
fessor  in  a  proposed  Theological  Seminary,  and  to  teach 
GLs!  Latin  and  Greek  in  Marion  College.  Then  the  family 
came  back  to  Montgomery  Square,  near  Norristown, 
for  a  brief  period,  and  in  1841,  when  Isabella  was 
twelve  years  of  age,  removed  to  the  college  hill  in 
Easton.  There  her  father  became  Professor  of  Latin 
and  Greek  in  Lafayette  College.  As  the  eldest  daugh¬ 
ter,  she  had  already  begun  to  have  a  share  in  the  care 
and  direction  of  the  younger  children.  She  attended, 
as  a  day  pupil,  the  boarding  school  of  Miss  Lorraine, 
down  in  the  town.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  on  October 
25th,  1843,  she  made  public  confession  of  her  faith,  in 
the  First  Church  of  Easton.  Three  and  a  half  years 
later  (May  19th,  1847),  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  her  name 
appears  among  the  Sunday  school  teachers  of  that 
church. 

YOUNG  WOMANHOOD. 

A  little  later,  she  became  a  pupil  of  the  Young 
Ladies’  Seminary  at  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  then  in  charge 
of  the  Misses  Craig.  In  1850,  Dr.  Nassau  purchased 
this  Seminary,  and  removed  there  to  become  its  head, 
and  from  that  date  until  Miss  Nassau  sailed  for  Africa, 
in  1868,  a  period  of  eighteen  years,  she  was  a  teacher 
in  that  institution. 

In  January,  1851,  she,  together  with  her  mother  and 
sister,  upon  certificate  from  the  church  in  Easton,  and 
a  sister  upon  profession  of  faith,  united  with  the  Law¬ 
renceville  church.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gosman,  pastor-elect, 
and  later  her  brother-in-law,  had  not  yet  assumed  full 
charge.  Her  uncle,  Rev.  Hugh  Hamill,  was  Moderator 
of  the  Session  which  received  her,  and  her  father  con¬ 
ducted  the  first  communion  service  of  which  she  par¬ 
took  as  a  member  of  this  church. 


4 


Being  now  an  energetic,  capable  and  earnest  young 
woman  of  twenty-two,  she  entered  at  once  and  actively 
into  the  religious  work  of  the  church.  She  took  a 
Sunday  school  class.  She  became  a  tract  distributor, 
and  regularly  tramped  many  miles  in  covering  her  dis¬ 
trict.  She  joined  the  Missionary  Society  and  soon  be¬ 
came  its  Secretary  and  one  of  its  moving  spirits.  For 
years  and  until  she  laid  down  the  pen  to  start  for 
Africa,  the  minutes  are  in  her  hand.  In  her  last  days, 
writing  from  Africa  and  describing  herself  as  “this  lone 
woman  in  this  far-off  land,”  she  said  of  Lawrenceville, 
“While  life  lasts  it  will  be  the  dearest  spot  on  earth 
to  me.’’ 


THE  CALL  OF  AFRICA. 

Although  as  a  daughter,  sister,  teacher,  active  church 
member,  she  sought  to  honor  Christ,  she  had  not  yet 
had  the  opportunity  of  service  for  which  her  heart 
yearned.  Like  the  great  missionary,  Paul,  she  had 
heard  the  call  of  “the  regions  beyond.”  Through  what 
channel  the  Spirit  first  gave  the  call  we  cannot  certainly 
say.  She  herself  said  she  could  not  tell.  It  may  have 
been  through  the  prayers  and  teachings  learned  at  her 
mother’s  knee,  for  to  these  her  brother,  Rev.  Dr.  R. 
Hamill  Nassau,  ascribes  his  first  interest  in  missions. 
It  may  have  been  the  missionary  hymns  which  she  de¬ 
lighted  to  sing  in  childhood,  and  a  favorite  one  of  which 
was  “The  Missionary’s  Call.”  It  appears  clear  that 
the  call  gained  direction  and  force  through  a  brief  visit 
made  to  her  father’s  house  in  Easton  by  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
G.  W.  Simpson.  They  were  about  to  go  out  to  Africa, 
to  assist  in  starting  the  Corisco  Mission,  which  they  did 
in  1850.  They  were  earnest  in  their  invitation  to  this 
interested  young  woman  to  follow  them.  That  they' 
themselves  were  drowned  within  a  year,  while  on  a 


voyage  to  a  neighboring  island,  probably  added  pathos 
and  power  to  the  invitation  they  had  given. 

DETAINED  HERSELF,  SITE  SEEKS  TO  SEND  OTHERS. 

But  young  Miss  Nassau’s  desire  to  offer  for  Africa 
had  not  yet  met  with  the  sanction  of  her  parents.  It 
was  considered  an  impropriety  for  an  unmarried  woman 
to  venture  in  such  savage  fields.  Although  she  could 
not  go  to  Africa,  God  had,  in  His  providence,  brought 
some  of  the  Africans  within  her  reach,  and  she  would 
work  for  them,  and  if  possible  through  them  for  Africa. 
She  took  a  particular  interest  in  the  colored  people  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  visited  among  them.  She  gath¬ 
ered  a  class  of  three  or  four  young  colored  men,  whom 
she  sought  to  prepare  for  what  was  then  Ashmun  In¬ 
stitute,  and  has  since  become  Lincoln  University.  She 
hoped  that  they  might  become  missionaries  in  Africa. 
One  of  them,  at  least,  became  a  minister,  but  never 
reached  the  Dark  Continent. 

But  her  missionary  enthusiasm  from  girlhood  had 
been  helping  to  prepare  another  missionary  for  the  land 
of  her  desires.  She  fanned  the  flame  of  missionary 
zeal  which  had  been  kindled  in  the  breast  of  Robert 
Hamill  Nassau  at  his  mother’s  knee.  When  he  sailed 
for  Africa  in  1861  (as  he  himself  records),  she  rejoiced 
in  his  going  as  probably  opening  a  way  for  herself. 
And  so  it  proved.  At  his  suggestion,  the  Mission  in 
Africa  sent  her  a  formal  invitation  to  join  them.  The 
scruples  of  her  parents  were  finally  overcome  by  her 
brother’s  presence  there,  his  reports  and  this  invitation. 

AFRICA  AT  LAST. 

At  last,  in  March,  1868,  when  she  was  already  a 
mature  woman  of  almost  forty  years  of  age,  Isabella 
Nassau  set  foot  on  African  soil,  to  begin  the  missionary 

6 


career  of  which  she  had  dreamed,  for  which  she  had 
longed  and  prayed.  It  was  a  grave  experiment  for  any 
one  to  make  under  the  circumstances.  To  enter  upon 
new  work  and  that  in  a  climate  so  different  and  so  try¬ 
ing,  not  onty  to  learn  new  languages,  but  to  learn  to 
enter  really  into  the  thought  and  life  and  experience  of 
men  and  women  and  children  so  diverse  from  those 
with  whom  she  had  hitherto  dealt — this  would  have 
been  a  great  task  even  in  that  period  of  life  when  such 
learning  and  adaptation  is  easiest.  That  the  experiment 
resulted  in  such  splendid  success  is  witness  not  only  to 
the  keen  intellect  and  the  strong  will  of  Isabella  Nassau, 
but  I  believe  above  all  to  that  ardent  love  for  Christ 
and  for  Africans  which  from  youth  had  glowed  in  her 
heart. 

SCHOOLS  AND  THEOLOGICAL  CLASSES. 

Her  aptitudes,  her  acquirements,  her  experience,  her 
preference,  made  clear  the  line  of  her  work  in  Africa ; 
it  was  pre-eminently  that  of  a  teacher.  Securing  a 
native  assistant  from  among  the  mission  helpers  at 
Corisco,  she  began  there  a  school  for  girls.  In  a  few 
months,  with  her  assistant,  she  crossed  to  her  brother’s 
house  at  Mbade  of  the  Benitc/  Station  on  the  mainland. 
Here  she  began  with  boys.  Presently  she  removed  with 
her  school  to  her  own  new  house  at  P»olondo.  Among 
the  half  clad  little  savages  to  whom  she  then  taught 
the  alphabet  was  one  whose  name  now  appears  in  the 
Minutes  of  our  General  Assembly  as  Rev.  Frank  Sher- 
rerd  Myongo,  pastor  of  Hanje  native  church,  Batanga. 
He  is  now  the  senior  native  minister  of  the  Presbytery. 
From  A,  P>,  C’s  to  theology,  Isabella  Nassau  was  his 
only  teacher. 

But  he  was  only  one.  As  Dr.  Nassau  reports,  for 
thirty  years,  from  1870  to  1000,  the  theological  class 

7 


was  almost  solely  under  Miss  Nassau’s  care.  Some  of 
the  men  had  scruples  about  committing  this  work  to  a 
woman,  but  it  was  necessary  that  the  work  should  be 
done.  The  male  missionaries  had  neither  time  nor 
patience  to  do  it.  Isabella  Nassau  could  do  it  and  she 
did.  When  the  men  came  up  for  examination  in  Pres¬ 
bytery,  they  were  found  prepared.  Dr.  Halsey,  Secre¬ 
tary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  who  was  present 
on  one  of  these  occasions,  wrote:  “I  listened  to  the  ex¬ 
amination  of  these  candidates  for  the  Gospel  ministry, 
and  was  well  satisfied  that  whatever  St.  Paul  meant 
when  he  said  that  women  should  not  speak  in  the 
church,  he  did  not  mean  that  women  should  not  teach 
in  a  theological  seminary  in  Africa.” 

But  she  did  not  teach  only  those  who  were  sent  to 
her.  Rather,  she  was  herself  another  Priscilla — 
one  who  did  not  need  an  Aquila  to  aid  her.  She  her¬ 
self  sought  out  many  of  the  apt  pupils  to  whom  she 
taught  the  way  of  God.  Tier  brother  says  candidates 
for  the  ministry  seemed  to  sprout  where  she  trod. 

While  the  training  of  students  for  the  ministry  was 
perhaps  the  most  striking,  unusual  and  important  form 
of  her  work,  it  was  by  no  means  all.  Beside  the  little 
group  of  theological  students  who  followed  her  about, 
partly  by  her  own  labor  and  partly  by  the  assistance  of 
others,  she  carried  on  schools  for  boys  or  girls,  or  more 
usually  for  both,  wherever  she  was. 

Leaving  Bolondo  in  1878,  she  followed  her  brother 
up  the  Ogowe  River,  first  to  Kangwe  for  seven  years, 
and  then  in  1885  to  Talaguga,  still  further  inland.  The 
Ogowe  Missions  in  French  territory  were  turned  over 
to  the  Paris  Evangelical  Society  in  1892.  Then,  for 
the  fourth  time,  she  was  moved  to  a  new  field.  This 
time  it  was  to  Batanga,  in  the  German  territory  of 
Kamerun,  which  became  thenceforth  her  African  home 

and  is  her  last  resting  place. 

3 


To  teaching  Miss  Nassau  presently  added  translation, 
that  her  scholars  and  others  might  have  some  Christian 
literature  in  their  native  tongues.  She  prepared  ard 
secured  the  printing  of  (i)  A  Compend  of  the  Bible  in 
Benga ;  (2)  Scripture  Questions  in  Benga;  (3)  Scrip¬ 
ture  Questions  in  Mpongwe;  (4)  Church  History  in 
Benga;  (5)  Benga  Customs.  She  herself  reduced  one 
language  to  writing. 

DIRECT  EVANGELISM. 

But  with  her,  as  with  all  true  missionaries,  the  intel¬ 
lectual  training,  vitally  important  as  it  is,  was  only  a 
means  to  an  end.  The  spiritual  regeneration  and  up¬ 
building  of  these  Africans  for  whom  she  believed  Christ 
died  was  the  goal  toward  which  her  eye  was  ever 
turned,  her  efforts  ever  directed.  While  physical 
strength  allowed,  she  seized  opportunities  to  itinerate 
through  other  villages  than  those  in  which  she  dwelt. 
She  canvassed  her  own  towns  and  held  prayer  meetings 
in  the  homes.  When  growing  infirmities  prevented 
much  walking,  these  meetings  were  delegated  to  her 
native  assistants,  but  down  to  the  very  last  she  kept  up 
her  attendance  on  the  Thursday  Woman’s  Prayer  Meet¬ 
ing  in  the  church  near  by  her  home,  and  gathered  about 
her  on  Sunday  afternoon  a  little  group  of  earnest  Chris¬ 
tian  women  for  prayer  and  counsel. 

Some  extracts  from  one  of  her  later  letters,  describ¬ 
ing  one  of  her  Sundays  and  particularly  this  little  meet¬ 
ing,  reveal  far  more  beautifully  than  the  words  of 
another  could  do,  her  own  spirit  in  her  missionary  work 
and  the  sympathy  that  must  have  been  one  great  secret 
of  her  power.  She  wrote,  July  18th,  1904: 

“Dear  Sister: — This  is  Sabbath  evening;  the  precious 
hours  have  been  filled  with  precious  opportunities  for 
service.  First,  in  the  service  of  nine  A.  M.,  the  part 

9 


of  organist  falls  to  me.  It  is  a  service  I  love  to  render, 
although  my  fingers  are  sometimes  a  little  stiff ;  then 
my  lunch  at  twelve  M.  At  two  P.  3VL,  the  Sabbath 
School — the  Superintendent  is  our  native  licentiate, 
Mbula  Dipipi,  and  it  falls  to  me,  in  a  variety  of  ways, 
to  superintend  him,  so  that  I  usually  have  a  much- 
used-up  feeling  when  four  P.  M.  comes;  but  the  faithful 
little  circle  of  our  small  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
were  awaiting  me  in  the  school  room,  and  it  was  my 
turn  to  lead.  I  always  find  that,  no  matter  how  broken 
down  I  feel,  I  am  sure  that  strength  will  come  to  me 
from  the  Loved  Unseen  if  my  faith  is  but  strong  enough 
to  rely  on  it  and  take  my  Saviour  at  His  word.  We 
had  a  most  interesting  meeting,  though  only  five  were 
present.  After  our  tea,  the  quiet  hour  came  which  I 
like  to  give  to  my  two  girls  who  are  living  with  Mrs. 
Ogden  and  myself  in  this  Evangeline  Cottage.  We 
sang  and  talked,  and  when  the  bell  rang  at  seven  P.  M. 
for  service,  I  realized  that  T  dared  not  go  out  to  the 
meeting,  but  the  two  girls  went,  and  I  am  attempting 
to  tell  something  about  the  little  Christian  Endeavor 
meeting  of  this  afternoon.  It  has  gladdened  my  heart 
and  encouraged  me,  oh,  so  much  ! 

“These  dear  native  women  and  I  are  getting  near 
each  other’s  hearts  when  we  clasp  each  other’s  hands  in 
these  little  meetings.  One  part  of  our  pledge  is  that 
each  one  is  to  make  some  direct,  personal  effort  for 
the  conversion  of  some  soul,  or  the  edification  of  some 
fellow-Christian,  and  there  is  always  something  to  be 
told.” 

WAYSIDE  MINISTRY. 

Miss  Nassau’s  last  earthly  home  was  known  as  “Evan¬ 
geline  Cottage,”  probably  so  called  because  that  name 
is  derived  from  evangel,  gospel — good  news.  It  became 
a  veritable  pulpit  from  which  Miss  Nassau  preached 
the  glad  tidings  not  to  little  groups  only,  but  to  wide 
regions  in  the  interior.  For,  as  Dr.  Halsey  tells  us : 
“A  well-trodden  path  leads  by  Evangeline  Cottage. 
Carriers  from  the  distant  interior  pass  on  their  way 
to  the  factory  beyond.  The  good  missionary  sits  in  the 


10 


doorway  of  the  cottage,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  baby 
organ  induces  the  carrier  to  rest  for  a  while  on  his 
journey,  ji  The  Word  of  God  is  preached  to  these 
passers-by,  some  of  whom  are  never  seen  again,  but 
surely  we  have  the  promise,  ‘My  Word  shall  not  return 
unto  Me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  the  purpose  where- 
unto  it  is  sent/  ” 


EVANGELINE  COTTAGE 


We  have  from  Miss  Nassau’s  own  pen  an  account  of 
the  result  in  the  case  of  one  of  these  passers-by: 

(Extract  from  letter  dated  Sabbath,  July  31st,  1904.) 

“Noon  time  we  like  to  keep  for  our  private  devotions, 
but  to-day  my  Bulu  friend,  an  old  man  named  ‘Nkoto,’ 
came,  and  I  spent  nearly  one  and  a  half  hours  instruct¬ 
ing  him.  *  *  *  *  He  insists  that  he  is  a  Christian,  for 
‘he  prays.’  (Is  not  that  true  Gospel?)  His  town  is 


beyond  Elat  Station;  and  King  Madolo,  my  neighbor, 
who  journeys  to  distant  places  and  has  visited  Nkolom- 
bonda,  the  town  of  Nkoto,  many  times,  informs  me  that 
Nkoto  keeps  the  Sabbath,  compels  his  people  to  do  so 
also,  and  that  he  preaches  to  his  people!  Just  think 
of  it !  Within  the  last  three  weeks  he  has  twice  bidden 
good-bye  and  gone  to  his  town.  But  he  is  not  satisfied 
to  stay  there;  he  says  he  loves  to  be  here  at  Batanga, 


MISS  NASSAU  AND  MRS.  OGDEN  IN  THEIR  AFRICAN  HOME 

to  hear  the  little  organ  and  to  he  taught.  He  brings 
such  nice,  well-behaved  people  with  him,  who  all  make 
daily  visits  to  me.  I  had  not  noticed  many  while  Sun¬ 
day  school  was  in  progress,  but  at  its  close,  more  than 
twenty  gathered  around  the  organ,  and  though  it  was 
time  for  our  dear  little  Christian  Endeavor  meeting  in 
the  Girls’  School,  I  told  the  women  to  go  on  without 
me  and  I  played  for  the  Built  and  helped  them  with 
Bulu  hymns.” 

WAITING  ON  THE  LORD. 

Another  quotation  from  one  of  her  later  letters  leads 
us  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  her  life,  the  shrine  where 
she  communed  with  God.  Tt  witnesses  to  her  simple 
faith,  her  whole-hearted  devotion.  On  her  seventieth 
birthday,  in  1899,  she  wrote: 


“Some  months  ago,  Dr.  Gillespie  wrote  me  suggesting 
a  furlough.  I  love  this  African  land.  I  feel  very  much 
at  home  among  its  people,  and  while  the  dear  Lord  con¬ 
tinues  to  me  some  ability  for  work,  I  cannot  say  I  wish 
to  go  hack  to  America.  I  regard  the  providential  order¬ 
ings  that  have  thus  permitted  me  to  work,  as  very  high 
privileges.  Since  Hamill  left,  there  have  been  many 
times  when  1  have  longed  to  see  you  all,  and  my 
thoughts  have  travelled  after  him.” 

Then  she  tells  how  another  missionary  had  come 
offering  her  his  escort  to  America  in  September.  She 
continues : 

“I  thanked  him  most  heartily  and  showed  my  appre¬ 
ciation  of  his  kind  thought,  but  could  not  just  then 
decide.  There  is  only  One  who  can  help  me  in  such 
decisions.  I  waited  on  the  Lord.  For  days  I  had  no 
answer.  At  last  it  came  thus :  T  had  been  reappointed 
to  the  instruction  of  the  class  of  candidates;  if  I  were 
to  leave  in  September,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to 
keep  up  my  usual  instructions  and  at  the  same  time 
be  gathering  up  my  things  for  a  departure,  for  I  am 
so  deeply  rooted.  After  that  ray  of  light  there  came 
another.  To  start  from  here  in  the  latter  part  of  Sep¬ 
tember  would  bring  me  to  America  at  the  very  begin¬ 
ning  of  a  long  and  cold  season  of  the  year.  Flow  plain 
it  all  seemed  !  I  had  not  spoken  to  any  one  of  how  I 
was  waiting  on  the  Lord.  You  cannot  know  how  this 
waiting  on  the  Lord  and  this  ‘showing*  the  way  has 
relieved  my  mind.  I  want  to  sing  for  joy,  but  the  use 
of  my  voice  in  singing  is  not  now  permitted  me ;  it 
causes  a  hacking  cough,  followed  by  painful  soreness.” 

Because  Miss  Nassau  thus  lived  in  constant,  happy 
communion  with  God,  her  face  shone  with  good  cheer 
as  she  mingled  with  mankind.  She  maintained  even  to 
old  age  a  merry  disposition,  which  won  the  young,  while 
it  heartened  the  aged  and  the  care-worn.  One  of  the 
last  pictures  of  her,  drawn  by  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Lippert, 
in  whose  house  she  was  at  the  time  and  where  later 
she  died,  shows  this  side  of  her  character.  Mrs.  Lip- 
pert  writes : 


13 


“She  is  such  a  dear  old  lady,  so  full  of  love  and  faith 
in  God,  and  she  has  so  much  charity  and  love  for  these 
people,  for  whom  she  has  done  and  given  so  much,  and 
who  at  times  have  seemed  so  unappreciative.  We  are 
glad  to  have  her  with  us.  Nellie  is  devoted  to  her,  for 
she  can  tell  the  most  wonderful  stories,  and  all  true. 
She  likes  to  do  little  things  for  her  and  spends  much 
of  her  play-time  in  her  room.” 

CLOSING  SCENES. 

Miss  Nassau’s  death  occurred  on  Tuesday,  the  12th 
of  June,  1906,  and  from  Dr.  Lippert,  her  fellow-mis¬ 
sionary  and  physician,  we  have  this  account  of  her  last 
days : 

“When  Mrs.  Lippert  and  T  arrived  at  Batanga  from 
the  interior,  a  little  over  four  months  ago,  Miss  Nassau 
received  us  in  a  most  sisterly  way.  As  we  had  never 
before  been  associated  with  her  in  the  work  at  a  station, 
we  were  not  well  acquainted  with  her,  and  we  are  very 
thankful  that*  we  were  able  to  know  her  and  to  see  her 
in  her  daily  life. 

“Our  dear  sister  had  suffered  much  during  the  last 
year  from  an  incomplete  paralysis  of  the  right  arm 
beside  the  ills  which  accompany  old  age. 

“A  more  devoted  and  consecrated  follower  of  Jesus 
I  have  never  seen.  At  times  she  would  be  so  feeble 
that  she  could  hardly  leave  her  bed/'fstill  she  would 
insist  upon  doing  something  for  others,  entirely  forget¬ 
ting  herself.  The  girls’  school,  which  she  so  long  and 
so  faithfully  taught,  was  upon  her  mind  continually, 
and  most  of  her  energy  was  employed  in  guiding  and 
directing  the  teachers  and  pupils. 

“Because  of  her  increasing  feebleness,  the  mission¬ 
aries  at  various  times  advised  her  to  return  to  America, 
but  she,  choosing  rather  privations  and  labor  than  the 
comfort  of  her  American  home,  remained  in  Africa  to 
toil  until  such  a  time  as  the  Master  would  call  her. 
She  was  not  one  to  fold  her  hands  in  idleness  to  await 
the  end,  but  most  truly  died  in  service. 

“Two  months  ago,  realizing  that  she  was  becoming 
too  feeble  to  take  care  of  herself,  she  consented  to  come 
and  live  with  us,  but  after  one  month  she  was  so  much 

T4 


improved  that  she  felt  she  ought  to  go  back  to  her  work 
until  such  a  time  as  she  could  arrange  to  leave  it  in 
other  hands.  She  also  intimated  that  as  Dr.  Nassau 
would  soon  be  leaving  for  America,  and  as  she  would 
probably  never  see  him  again,  she  wished  to  be  with 
him  as  much  as  possible  before  he  left.  After  the 
Doctor  left  she  still  felt  it  to  be  her  duty  to  stay  by  the 
girls,  saying,  however,  that  she  was  looking  forward  to 
the  time  when  she  could  come  to  live  with  her  friends. 
Of  late  she  was  unable  to  walk  any  distance,  and  when 
she  wished  to  make  a  visit  was  drawn  in  a  wheeled 
chair. 

“The  Saturday  before  her  death  she  visited  us  and 
seemed  to  be  unusually  happy  and  cheerful.  On  Sunday 
I  visited  her,  and  found  her  suffering  somewhat.  The 
next  day  her  condition  was  alarming,  and  we  hastened 
to  remove  her  to  our  home.  She  rallied  to  some  ex¬ 
tent,  but  the  next  morning,  while  talking  with  her  cook 
about  household  affairs,  she  was  attacked  by  a  cerebral 
hemorrhage  and  death  came  suddenly  and  painlessly. 

“To  tell  of  her  virtues,  her  good  deeds,  her  entire 
unselfishness  and  consideration  for  others,  would  take 
many  pages.  Many  of  you  know  her  much  better  than 
we  do,  but  I  must  say  that  her  daily  Christlike  life  was, 
and  will  continue  to  be,  an  inspiration  to  all  who  knew 
her.  Though  we  miss  her  greatly,  we  are  glad  that 
she  has  gone  to  the  home  prepared  for  her,  where  the 
ills  of  the  flesh  and  the  ingratitude  of  men  will  not 
again  cause  her  sorrow. 

“The  natives,  too,  have  suddenly  come  to  the  convic¬ 
tion  that  they  had  appreciated  ‘Mama  Bella’  far  too 
little  during  her  lifetime.  Her  goodness  had  been  so 
constant  toward  them  that  they  took  it  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  often  failed  to  recognize  her  claims  upon 
them,  though  all  of  them  loved  her  as  a  small  child 
loves  its  mother. 

“She  gave  her  life  for  the  people  of  Africa  and  the 
cause  of  Christ,  and  many  will  be  the  jewels  in  her 
crown. 

“The  remains  were  interred  in  the  mission  cemetery. 
Great  numbers  of  Christian  and  heathen  natives,  beside 
representatives  of  European  trading  firms  and  of  the 
German  Government,  and  the  missionaries  at  the  station, 

15 


were  present  at  the  solemn  and  impressive  services 
conducted  by  Rev.  Mr.  Heminger  and  two  native  min¬ 
isters,  once  her  pupils.” 

MANY  TRIBUTES. 

The  German  Governor  sent  a  wreath  of  flowers  and 
a  letter  of  condolence,  in  which  he  said :  “Her  unselfish 
activity,  her  courageous  persistency  in  staying*'  for  so 
many  years  in  the  dreaded  climate  of  tropical'' Africa, 
procured  for  Miss  Nassau  the  reverence  and  admiration 
not  only  of  the  whites,  but  in  particular  and  to  a  very 
high  degree  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  this  station, 
and  have  created  for  her  in  the  whole  district  a  lasting 
memory.” 

It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  quote,  if  space  permitted, 
some  of  the  other  words  of  appreciation  and  affection, 
which  Miss  Nassau’s  death  called  forth  from  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions,  under  which  she  served;  from  the 
Woman’s  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Philadelphia,  of 
which  she  was  one  of  the  first  missionaries  ;  from  the 
Society  of  the  Woodland  Church,  Philadelphia,  which 
from  1870  supported  her  as  its  special  representative; 
from  the  missionaries  associated  with  her  upon  the  field, 
and  from  her  faithful  and  devoted  African  assistants; 
but  even  so  brief  and  imperfect  a  review  of  her  own  life 
and  work  as  has  been  here  given  demonstrates  that 
encomiums  of  others  are  not  needed  to  carry  conviction 
of  her  beautiful  character,  her  great  devotion  and  her 
eminent  services. 

She  has  passed  into  the  manifest  presence  and  to  the 
gracious  reward  of  Him  whose  word  declares : 

“They  that  be  wise  (margin,  teachers)  shall  shine  as 
the  brightness  of  the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.” 

Samuel  McLanahan. 

Lawrenceville,  N.  J. 

t6 


